Aerial device and method for controlling the aerial device

ABSTRACT

An aerial device includes a body, an optical system having gimbal supporting a camera, a lift mechanism coupled to the body, a haptic sensor coupled to the body and configured to generate haptic data, and a processing system disposed in the body and in data communication with the haptic sensor. The processing system is configured to process the haptic data to understand an intended position of the aerial device and/or an intended orientation of the gimbal and convert the intended position to a target position of the aerial device and/or the intended orientation to a target orientation of the gimbal utilizing said processed data irrespective of an initial position of said aerial device and an initial orientation of said gimbal. Also disclosed is a method for controlling the aerial device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/055,540, filed on Aug. 6, 2018, which is a continuation ofU.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/893,991 (issued asU.S. Pat. No. 10,067,504), filed on Feb. 12, 2018, claiming priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/458,903, filed on Feb. 14, 2017, thecontents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject application relates generally to an aerial device and to amethod for controlling an aerial device.

BACKGROUND

Unmanned aerial devices are aerial devices, aerial vehicles, or droneswithout a human operator or pilot aboard. Such aerial devices havemultiple degrees of freedom, including translational motion (such aslongitudinal, lateral, and vertical) and rotational motion (such aspitch, roll, and yaw). Translational motion typically changes theposition of the aerial device, and rotational motion typically changesthe orientation of a multi-degree gimbal carried by the aerial device.For aerial devices lifted or propelled using four rotors, which areoften referred to as quadrotors, two rotational motions are coupled withtwo translational motions (such as pitch-longitudinal motion,roll-lateral motion, etc.). This results in a total of four degrees offreedom, such as pitch-longitudinal, roll-lateral, vertical, and yaw.

The position of the aerial device and/or the orientation of gimbal istypically controlled remotely, such as with a remote controller, amobile computing device, a smartphone, a tablet computer, and/or othersuitable hand-held device. The hand-held device has a plurality ofbuttons that, when actuated, controls the movement of the aerial device.For example, the remote device may have a control interface includingtwo directional buttons (such as positive and negative buttons) for eachof the four degree of freedom movements, amounting to eight totaldirectional buttons. In addition, for aerial devices having an onboardoptical system including a camera mounted on the multi-degree gimbal,the control interface may include additional buttons for controlling theorientation of the camera. With this configuration, an operator is oftenfaced with the challenge of learning all of the buttons on the controlinterface and with having to actuate multiple buttons at the same timeto control the position of the aerial device and/or the orientation ofthe gimbal.

This disclosure is aimed at solving the problems identified above.

SUMMARY

An aerial device is disclosed. The aerial device comprises a body, alift mechanism coupled to the body and configured to provide at leastone of lift and thrust to the body, an optical system coupled to thebody and having a camera, a gimbal supporting and enabling rotationalmovement of the camera, a haptic sensor coupled to the body andconfigured to generate haptic data, and a processing system disposed insaid body and in data communication with said haptic sensor. Theprocessing system is configured to: process said haptic data receivedfrom the haptic sensor to understand at least one of an intendedposition of said aerial device and an intended orientation of saidgimbal; and convert said at least one of said intended position of saidaerial device and said intended orientation of said gimbal to at leastone of a target position of the aerial device and a target orientationof the gimbal utilizing said processed data irrespective of an initialposition of said aerial device and an initial orientation of saidgimbal.

A method for controlling an aerial device is also disclosed. The aerialdevice has a body, an optical system coupled to the body and having acamera, a gimbal supporting the camera, a haptic sensor coupled to thebody, and a processing system disposed in the body and in datacommunication with the haptic sensor. The aerial device has an initialposition and the gimbal has an initial orientation. The method comprisesthe steps of: activating the haptic sensor coupled to the body togenerate haptic data; processing, by the processing system, the hapticdata received from the haptic sensor to understand at least one of anintended position of the aerial device and an intended orientation ofthe gimbal; converting, by the processing system, the at least one ofthe intended position of the aerial device and the intended orientationof the gimbal to at least one of a target position of the aerial deviceand a target orientation of the gimbal utilizing the processed datairrespective of the initial position of the aerial device and theinitial orientation of the gimbal; and moving at least one of the aerialdevice from the initial position to the target position and the gimbalfrom the initial orientation to the target orientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated asthe same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. It is to be understood that the drawings are purelyillustrative and are not necessary drawn to scale. In addition, certainfeatures of the aerial device or system including the aerial device maybe represented schematically or semi-schematically.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an aerial system including anaerial device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the aerial device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the aerial device including aschematic representation of internal components of the aerial device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice with a plurality of touch sensors according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice with a plurality of touch screens according to another embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling theaerial device.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling theaerial device and/or the gimbal including at least one touch sensor.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice illustrating a method for controlling a position of the aerialdevice utilizing touch sensor coupled to the body of the aerial device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice illustrating a method for controlling an orientation of thegimbal utilizing a touch sensor mounted to a housing for supporting anoptical system of the aerial device.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling aposition of the aerial device utilizing a touch screen coupled to thebody of the aerial device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice illustrating a method for controlling lateral and longitudinalposition of the aerial device utilizing the touch screen mounted to thebody of the aerial device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice illustrating a method for controlling a vertical position of theaerial device utilizing the touch screen mounted to the body of theaerial device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic front perspective view of a portion of the aerialdevice illustrating a method for controlling an orientation of thegimbal utilizing the touch screen mounted to a housing for supporting anoptical system of the aerial device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, wherein like numerals indicatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, embodiments of anaerial device 12 are shown throughout the figures and are described indetail below. The aerial device 12 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV),drone, or other aerial device without a human operator or pilot aboard.The aerial device 12 may be a rotorcraft (such as a quadcopter, ahelicopter, and a cyclocopter), a fixed-wing aircraft, an aerostat, orother suitable aircraft or device configured to fly within a physicalspace. The aerial device 12 may be configured to capture images (such asphotographs and/or video), audio, or other data from the physical space.The aerial device 12 may be used for a variety of purposes, such as toperform surveillance for industry, for monitoring weather conditions,for border patrols, for military operations, etc. The aerial device 12may also be used purely for recreation.

In an embodiment, the aerial device 12 is part of an aerial system 10,as schematically shown in FIG. 1. The aerial system 10 includes theaerial device 12 and a remote device 14 having a control client 16 witha user interface 18 for enabling an operator 22 to control certainoperations of the aerial device 12. The control client 16 may be anative application (e.g., a mobile application), a browser application,an operating system application, or other suitable application residenton a processing system of the remote device 14. Other operations of theaerial device 12 may be controlled utilizing a control interface 20 onthe aerial device 12 itself. The control interface 20 provides a controlplatform on the aerial device 12 enabling the operator 22 to controlcertain or selected operations of the aerial device 12 without direct orphysical interaction with the remote device 14. Alternatively, theaerial device 12 could be controlled without using any remote device 14.In this alternative embodiment, all operations of the aerial device 12could be controlled using the control interface 20 on the aerial device12 itself. However, in this alternative embodiment, a remote devicecould be used for receiving data from the aerial device 12, such asimages and/or video relayed from the aerial device 12 to the remotedevice, and not for controlling operations of the aerial device 12.

Embodiments of the aerial device 100 are described in detail below atleast with reference to FIGS. 1-5. The aerial device 12 has a body orfuselage 24. The body 24 may be any support structure that suitablyprotects and/or retains internal components of the aerial device 12,such as a processing system 26, a communication system 28, a powersupply 30, etc. which are disposed at least partially inside the body24. The body 24 may also be any support structure that suitably supportsexternal components of the aerial device 12, such as the controlinterface 20, haptic sensors 32, a gimbal housing 46, etc. which aremounted to an exterior surface 25 of the body 24. The body 24 may haveany suitable configuration, size, and/or geometry. The body 24 may alsohave a platform and/or other suitable additional support structure forcarrying or supporting one or more of the internal components of theaerial device 12. In an embodiment, the body 24 is thermally conductiveand functions as an auxiliary heat sink. Additionally, the body 24 maybe formed from any suitable material, non-limiting examples of whichinclude carbon fibers, carbon composites, metals, metal alloys,plastics, ceramics, and/or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the aerial device 12 further has at least one frame orcage 34 coupled to or disposed at least partially around the body 24. Inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the aerial device 12 has two frames 34,with one of the frames 34 coupled to one side of the body 24 and anotherone of the frames 34 coupled to the other side of the body 24. Theframe(s) 34 is configured to house rotors 38 of a lift mechanism 36. Theframe(s) 34 also functions as an intermediary component between therotors 38 and some type of retention mechanism, such as the operator'shand, when the device 12 is being held or supported.

The aerial device 12 further has the lift mechanism 36 coupled to thebody 24 and configured to provide at least one of lift and thrust to thebody 12. In other words, the lift mechanism 36 operates to enable theaerial device 12 to fly. The lift mechanism 36 may also be configured tocool the internal aerial device components (such as the processingsystem 26, etc.), the interior of the body 24, etc. In an embodiment,the lift mechanism 36 includes at least one rotor 38. In anotherembodiment, the lift mechanism 36 includes a set of rotors 38 thatoperate individually or collectively. Each of the rotors 38 may bedriven by a motor (such as an electric motor), a jet engine, apropeller, or any other suitable force-generation device or mechanism.The motors are powered by the power supply 30 and are typicallycontrolled by the processing system 26.

The rotors 38 of the lift mechanism 36 operate individually orcollectively to enable aerial device 12 flight. It is to be appreciatedthat the aerial device 12 could also include any other suitable flightcomponents that operate to enable or assist aerial device 12 flight. Inan embodiment, the aerial device 12 has four rotors 38, with each rotor38 arranged adjacent a respective corner of the body 24. An example ofthis is shown in FIG. 3. In another embodiment, the rotors 38 may bepositioned at any desirable location relative to the body 24. Inalternative embodiments, the aerial device 12 could have any number ofrotors 38, such as one rotor, two rotors, three rotors, etc.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the processing system 26 is disposed in thebody 24 of the aerial device 12 and connected to the active componentsof the aerial device 12. The processing system 26 includes one or moreprocessors 40 configured to execute one or more software programs forcontrolling the aerial device 12. In an embodiment, the processingsystem 26 receives operation instructions (such as from thecommunication system 28 and/or other active components of the aerialdevice 12), converts the operation instructions into machineinstructions, and controls the aerial device 12 based on the machineinstructions (individually or as a set). The processing system 26 mayadditionally or alternatively process images recorded by an opticalsystem 42 coupled to the body 24, stream images to the remote device 14in real time or near real time, and/or perform any other suitablefunctionality.

The processor(s) 40 of the processing system 26 may be a CPU, GPU,and/or the like, and may include a memory (such as a Flash memory, RAM,etc.) and/or any other suitable processing component. In an embodiment,the processing system 26 also includes dedicated hardware thatautomatically processes images obtained from the optical system 42 (suchas de-warping the image, filtering the image, cropping the image, etc.)prior to transmission to the remote device 14. Further details of theoptical system 42 are described below.

The communication system 28 is also disposed in the body 24 and operatesto send and/or receive information (data) to/from the remote device 14.In an embodiment, the communication system 28 is connected to theprocessing system 26, such that the communication system 28 sends datato the processing system 26 and/or receives data from the processingsystem 26. The communication system 28 may be a wired or a wirelesscommunication system. In addition, the communication system 28 may along-range communication system, a short-range communication system, orany other suitable communication module. Non-limiting examples ofsuitable communications systems 28 include 802.11x, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, NFC,RFID, Bluetooth, ZigBee, cellular telecommunications (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G,LTE, etc.), radio (RF), USB, and/or other suitable communication modulesor systems. The communication system 28 also typically shares at leastone system protocol (such as BLE, RF, etc.) with the remote device 14.Alternatively, the communication system 28 may communicate with theremote device 14 via an intermediary communication system (such as aprotocol translation system).

The aerial device 100 further has the power supply 30 disposed within ormounted to the body 24. The power supply 30 operates to supply power,either directly or indirectly, to all of the active components (such asthe lift mechanism 36, the processing system 26, the optical system 42,etc.) of the aerial device 12. The power supply 30 may be mounted withinthe body 24 and connected to the active components, or may be otherwisearranged. Non-limiting examples of suitable power supplies includerechargeable batteries, primary batteries, secondary batteries, fuelcells, external power supplies (such as a RF charger, induction charger,etc.), an energy harvesting system (such as a solar energy system),and/or the like.

As previously mentioned, the aerial device 12 further includes theoptical system 42 coupled to the body 24 and configured to record imagesof the physical space proximal the aerial device 42. The optical system42 includes at least one camera 44 and other optical system componentsfor supporting and/or assisting with the functionality of the camera 44.The camera 44 may be a single lens camera (such as a CCD camera, CMOScamera, etc.), a stereo-camera, a hyperspectral camera, a multispectralcamera, or any other suitable imaging or optical device or sensor. Theoptical system 42 may be active (e.g., controlled by the processingsystem 26) or passive (e.g., controlled by a set of weights, springelements, magnetic elements, etc.). The optical system 42 may includeadditional components configured to translate the camera 44 along one ormore axes relative to the body 24 and/or to actuate the camera 44.

The aerial device 12 further includes a gimbal 48 supporting the camera44. The gimbal 48 may be a platform or other support that can pivot toenable rotation of the camera 44 about at least one axis (such a roll,pitch, and yaw). In an embodiment, the gimbal 48 may include anactuator, such as a brushless motor, for actuating movement of thegimbal 48.

In an embodiment, the aerial device 12 further includes the housing 46for supporting the optical system 42 and the gimbal 48. The housing 46is coupled to the body 24, and the optical system 42 (which includes thecamera 44 and possibly other optical system components) and the gimbal48 are disposed in the housing 46.

The aerial device 12 further has a self-stabilizing feature orapplication executable by the processing system 26. Utilizinginformation obtained from onboard accelerometer(s) and/or gyroscope(s),the self-stabilizing feature instructs certain components of the device12 to operate in a particular fashion in order to keep the aerial device12 at a particular position and/or the gimbal 46 at a particularorientation. This is useful, for example, when the device 12 issubjected to an external disturbance, such as wind, etc. In an example,the self-stabilizing feature instructs the rotors 38 to operate in aparticular fashion so that the aerial device 12 can go to and stay at atarget position and/or the gimbal 48 can rotate to and stay at a targetorientation specified by the operator 22.

As shown at least in FIGS. 4 and 5, the aerial device 12 furtherincludes the haptic sensor(s) 32 coupled to the exterior surface 25 ofthe body 24. In an embodiment, the aerial device 12 include at least onehaptic sensor 32 coupled to the body 24. In another embodiment, theaerial device 12 includes two haptic sensors 32 coupled to the body 24.One of the haptic sensors 32 may be mounted to the body 24 of the aerialdevice 12, and the other one of the haptic sensors 32 may be mounted tothe housing 46 of the optical system 42. The one haptic sensor 32 may bemounted at any desirable location on the body 24, and the other hapticsensor 32 may be mounted at any desirable location on the housing 46. Inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the one haptic sensor 32 ismounted to the top of the body 24, and the other haptic sensor 32 ismounted to a side of the housing 46. It is to be appreciated that thehaptic sensors 32 can be located at any desirable location on the body24 and the housing 46, typically wherever the haptic sensors 32 are mostaccessible to the operator 22. In addition, the haptic sensors 32 may bemounted to the body 24 and the housing 46 by any suitable means.

The haptic sensors 32 are configured to generate haptic data. Asdescribed in further detail below, the haptic data is used by theprocessing system 26 to understand at least one of an intended positionof the aerial device 12 and an intended orientation of the gimbal 48,and to convert the intended position and/or intended orientation into atarget position of the aerial device 12 and/or a target orientation ofthe gimbal 48. The processing system 26 performs the converting stepirrespective of the initial position of the aerial device 12 and theinitial orientation of the gimbal 48.

The haptic sensor 32 is selected from a touch sensor and a touch screen.In one embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 4, one or more of the hapticsensors 32 _(A) is a touch sensor, which is an input device thatsuitably captures and records a single physical touch, such as a touchprovided by the operator's finger 22. In other words, the touch sensor32 _(A) suitably captures and records a single finger touch. The touchsensor 32 _(A) may respond similarly or differently to different typesof touches, such as tapping, pressing, etc. The touch sensor 32 _(A) mayalso respond similarly or differently to different pressures of touch.Typically, the touch sensor 32 _(A) does not have a gesture recognition.

In another embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 5, one or more of the hapticsensors 32 _(B) is a touch screen, which is any suitable display screenthat enables the operator 22 to interact directly with the image(s)being displayed. Direct interaction may include touching the touchscreen 32 _(B) with the operator's finger, typically without the use ofan intermediate device. In some instances, direct interaction may beaccomplished using a stylus. In an embodiment, the touch screen 32 _(B)has gesture recognition.

The aerial system 12 may also include additional sensors 33 forrecording signals indicative of aerial device operation, the ambientenvironment surrounding the aerial device 12, and/or other parameters.The additional sensors 33 are typically mounted to the body 24, poweredby the power supply 30, and controlled by the processing system 26.Non-limiting examples of additional sensors 33 include additionalcameras, orientation sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, audio sensors,barometers, light sensors, temperature sensors, current sensors, airflow meters, voltmeters, touch sensors, proximity sensors, forcesensors, vibration sensors, chemical sensors, sonar sensors, locationssensors, and/or the like.

Details of a method for controlling the aerial device 12 are describedbelow. As shown in FIG. 6, the method comprises the steps of activatingthe haptic sensor 32 coupled to the body 24 to generate haptic data(method step 100); processing, by the processing system 26, the hapticdata received from the haptic sensor to understand at least one of anintended position of the aerial device 12 and an intended orientation ofthe gimbal 48 (method step 102); converting, by the processing system26, at least one of the intended position of the aerial device 12 andthe intended orientation of the gimbal 48 to at least one of a targetposition of the aerial device 12 and a target orientation of the gimbal48 utilizing the processed data irrespective of the initial position ofthe aerial device 12 and the initial orientation of the gimbal 48(method step 104); and moving at least one of the aerial device 12 fromthe initial position to the target position and the gimbal 48 from theinitial orientation to the target orientation (method step 106).

The method is typically performed while aerial device 12 is inoperation. Prior to performing the method, the aerial device 12 has aninitial position (longitudinal, lateral, and vertical) and the gimbal 48has an initial orientation (pitch, roll, and yaw). The initial positionmay be any position of the aerial device 12 and the initial orientationmay be any orientation of the gimbal 48 while the aerial device 12 is inoperation (such as hovering at a specific location in the physicalspace) when the method begins.

As previously mentioned, the aerial device 12 has at least one hapticsensor 32. In an embodiment, the haptic sensor(s) 32 is a touch sensor32 _(A). Details of the method utilizing the aerial device 12 havingtouch sensors 32 _(A) are described below with reference to FIGS. 7-9.As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes determining the initial positionof the aerial device 12 and the initial orientation of the gimbal 48(method step 200). Once the initial position and initial orientationhave been determined, the processing system 26 determines if the touchsensor 32 _(A) has been activated (method step 202). Activating thetouch sensor 32 _(A) includes activating the touch sensor 32 _(A) with afinger touch. In other words, the touch sensor 32 _(A) may be activatedby touching the touch sensor 32 _(A) with the operator's finger. If theprocessing system 26 determines that the touch sensor 32 _(A) has notbeen activated, then the processing system 26 controls the aerial 12 tokeep the device 12 in its initial position and controls the gimbal 48 tokeep the gimbal 48 in its initial orientation (method step 204) and themethod ends (method step 206). If the processing system 26 determinesthat the touch sensor 32 _(A) has been activated, then the methodincludes deactivating self-stabilization of the aerial device 12 and thegimbal 48 (method step 208). When self-stabilization is deactivated, theprocessing system 26 activates a hold adjustment feature to, forexample, allow the operator 22 to grasp and hold the aerial device 12 inhis/her hand(s) without reactive motion caused by self-stabilization ofthe device 12.

In embodiments where the haptic sensor 32 is the touch sensor 32 _(A),the activating step includes activating the touch sensor 32 _(A) with asingle finger touch. The term single finger touch describes the act ofplacing the operator's finger on the touch sensor 32 _(A) at one spot orlocation on the touch sensor 32 _(A). With a single finger touch, theoperator's finger remains in one spot and does not move around thesurface of the sensor 32 _(A). While maintaining the single finger touchon the touch sensor 32 _(A), the operator 22 moves the aerial device 12from the initial position to the target position and/or moves the gimbal48 from the initial orientation to the target orientation. For example,while maintaining the single finger touch on the touch sensor 32 _(A)mounted to the body 24 of the device 12, the operator 22 moves theaerial device 12 to any desired location (such as longitudinally,laterally, and/or vertically) within the physical space. This is shownin FIG. 8. Movement within the physical space typically occurs withinthe operator's reach. The location that the operator 22 moves the aerialdevice 12 to is the target position of the aerial device 12. During thismovement, the touch sensor 32 _(A) generates haptic data includinggeographic location data of the device 12 and transmits the haptic data(via the communication system 28) to the processing system 26. Theprocessing system 26, utilizing one or more suitable software programs,processes the haptic data (geographic or coordinate location or positiondata) generated as the operator is moving the device 12 until theoperator stops moving the device 12 to understand the operator'sintended position of the device 12. The processing system 26 convertsthe intended position of the device 12 into the target positionutilizing the processed data (method step 210 shown in FIG. 7).

In another example, while maintaining the single finger touch on thetouch sensor 32 _(A) mounted to the housing 46 supporting the opticalsystem 42, the operator 22 rotates the housing 46 to any desiredrotational position. This is shown in FIG. 9. Since the gimbal 48 ismounted to the housing 46, the gimbal 48 rotates with the rotationalmovement of the housing 46. During rotation of the gimbal 48, the touchsensor 32 _(A) mounted to the housing 46 generates haptic data includingorientation data of the gimbal 48 and transmits the haptic data (via thecommunication system 28) to the processing system 26. The processingsystem 26, utilizing one or more suitable software programs, processesthe haptic data generated as the operator is rotating the housing 46until the operator stops rotating the housing 46 to understand theoperator's intended orientation of the gimbal 48 (method step 210 inFIG. 7). The processing system 26 converts the intended orientation ofthe gimbal 48 into the target orientation utilizing the processed data(method step 212 shown in FIG. 7).

It is to be understood that the processing system 26 converts theintended position into the target position of the aerial device 12 andthe intended orientation to the target orientation of the gimbal 48irrespective of the initial position and initial orientation. In thisway, the processing system 26 can determine the target position of thedevice 12 and the target orientation of the gimbal 48 without requiringany initial position and initial orientation data.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the method further includes the step ofdeactivating the touch sensor 32 _(A) by removing the single fingertouch from the touch sensor 32 _(A) after the moving step (method step214). For example, once the aerial device 12 has been moved to thetarget position and/or the gimbal 48 has been rotated to the targetorientation, the operator 22 removes his/her finger from the touchsensor 32 _(A). Upon removing the operator's finger from the touchsensor 32 _(A), the device 12 remains at the target position and/ortarget orientation. Also upon removing the operator's finger from thetouch sensor 32 _(A), the method includes reactivatingself-stabilization of the device 12 to enable the operator 22 to removehis/her grasp on and let go of the device 12. The aerial device 12 thenautomatically hovers within the physical space at the target positionand the gimbal 48 orientated at the target orientation (method step216). The method ends at step 218.

In another embodiment, the haptic sensor(s) 32 coupled to the body 24 ofthe aerial device 12 is a touch screen 32 _(B). Details of the methodutilizing the aerial device 12 having touch screens 32 _(B) aredescribed below with reference to FIGS. 10-13. As shown in FIG. 10, themethod includes determining the initial position of the aerial device 12and the initial orientation of the gimbal 48 (method step 300). Once theinitial position and the initial orientation have been determined, theprocessing system 26 determines if the touch screen 32 _(B) has beenactivated (method step 302). Activating the touch screen 32 _(B)includes activating the touch screen 32 _(B) with a finger swipe. Inother words, the touch screen 32 _(B) may be activated by a finger swipeon the touch screen 32 _(B) with the operator's finger. If theprocessing system 26 determines that the touch screen 32 _(B) has notbeen activated, then the processing system 26 controls the aerial device12 to keep the device 12 in its initial position and controls the gimbal48 to keep the gimbal 48 in its initial orientation (method step 304)and the method ends (method step 306). If the processing system 26determines that the touch screen 32 _(B) has been activated, then themethod includes deactivating self-stabilization of the aerial device 12and the gimbal 48 (method step 308). When self-stabilization isdeactivated, the processing system 26 activates a hold adjustmentfeature to, for example, allow the operator 22 to grasp and hold theaerial device 12 in his/her hand(s) without reactive motion caused byself-stabilization of the device 12.

In embodiments where the haptic sensor 32 is the touch screen 32 _(B),the activating step includes activating the touch screen 32 _(B) withthe finger swipe. The term finger swipe describes the act of dragging orswiping at least one of the operator's fingers on, along, and/or acrossthe touch screen 32 _(B) in a predetermined swipe path and/or swipedirection. With a finger swipe, the operator's finger(s) touches thetouch screen 32 _(B) in multiple locations. In other words, the fingerswipe is a plurality of finger touches on the touch screen 32 _(B)including an initial touch followed by multiple touches at differentlocations on the touch screen 32 _(B). The plurality of touchestypically specify a swipe path and/or swipe direction.

The method includes generating haptic data, by the touch screen 32 _(B),representative of the swipe direction (method step 310 shown in FIG.10). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, lateral and/or longitudinaladjustment or control of the aerial device 12 may be accomplishedutilizing haptic data generated from a finger swipe in a swipe directionfrom just one of the operator's fingers. In the embodiment shown in FIG.12, vertical adjustment or control of the aerial device 12 may beaccomplished utilizing haptic data generated from a finger swipe in aswipe direction from two of the operator's fingers at the same time.This is essentially two finger swipes generated simultaneously.

The touch screen 32 _(B) transmits (via the communications system 28)the haptic data to the processing system 26. The processing system 26processes the data to understand the operator's intended position of theaerial device 12 (method step 312). In an embodiment, utilizing one ormore suitable software programs, the processing system 26 translates theswipe direction into a position difference in position coordinates. Inthis embodiment, the position difference is typically proportional tothe length of the finger swipe across the touch screen 32 _(B). Inanother embodiment, utilizing one or more suitable software programs,the processing system 26 translates the swipe direction into a shortswipe (where the swipe distance is shorter than a preset thresholddistance) as a short movement command, and a long swipe (where the swipedistance is longer than a preset threshold distance) as a long movementcommand. The processing system 26 converts the intended position intothe target position of the device 12 (method step 314). For example, theprocessing 26 converts the position difference determined from the swipedirection into a local coordinate using the initial position of theaerial device 12 and a classic coordinate calculation or transformationsoftware program. The processing system 26 adds the coordinate of theposition difference to the coordinate of the initial position of theaerial device 12 to convert the intended position into the targetposition of the device 12.

The orientation of the gimbal 48 may be controlled utilizing haptic datarepresentative of a swipe direction generated by two of the operator'sfingers, with one finger pivoting on the touch screen 32 _(B) while theother finger rotates on the touch screen 32 _(B). This is shown in FIG.13. The method of controlling the orientation of the gimbal 48 isaccomplished similarly to the method of controlling the position of thedevice 12 described above. For example, with the aerial device 12hovering at the initial position and initial orientation, the operator22 grasps the device 12 and activates the touch screen 32 _(B) bytouching the touch screen 32 _(B) with the finger swipe described above.The touch screen 32 _(B) transmits (via the communications system 28)the haptic data to the processing system 26. The processing system 26processes the data to understand the operator's intended orientation ofthe gimbal 48. In an embodiment, utilizing one or more suitable softwareprograms, the processing system 26 translates the swipe direction intoan orientation difference in gimbal coordinates. In this embodiment, theorientation difference is typically proportional to the length of thefinger swipe across the touch screen 32 _(B). In another embodiment,utilizing one or more suitable software programs, the processing system26 translates the swipe direction into a short swipe (where the swipedistance is shorter than a preset threshold distance) as a short gimbalrotation command, and a long swipe (where the swipe distance is longerthan a preset threshold distance) as a long gimbal rotation command. Theprocessing system 26 converts the intended orientation into the targetorientation of the gimbal 48. For example, the processing 26 convertsthe orientation difference into a local coordinate using the initialorientation of the gimbal 48 and a classic coordinate transformationsoftware program. The processing system 26 adds the coordinate of theorientation difference to the coordinate of the initial orientation ofthe gimbal 48 to determine the target orientation of the gimbal 48(method step 314).

In another embodiment, utilizing gimbal angular sensors (such as halleffect sensors, magnetic encoders, rotary potentiometers, etc.), theorientation of the gimbal 48 may be controlled by directly rotating thegimbal 48 by the operator to a desired angular position, and holding thegimbal 48 at the new angular position for a period of time. Theprocessing system 26, utilizing suitable software program(s),understands the new position of the gimbal 48 and sets this position asa new control set point.

Once the processing system 26 determines the target position and/ororientation, the method includes reactivating the self-stabilizingfeature of the device 12 (method step 316) and activates the liftmechanism 36 to effect movement of the device 12 to move the device 12to the target position and/or the gimbal 48 to move the gimbal 48 to thetarget orientation (method step 318). The aerial device 12 automaticallyhovers within the physical space at the target position and/or with thetarget orientation of the gimbal 48 and the method ends (method step320).

As mentioned above, and in the illustrated embodiments, the aerialdevice 12 has two haptic sensors 32 with one mounted to the body 24 andthe other mounted to the housing 46. The position and orientation may becontrolled independently, such as by activating the haptic sensor 32mounted to the body 24 for controlling the position of the device 12 orby activating the haptic sensor 32 mounted to the housing 46 forcontrolling the orientation of the gimbal 48. In another embodiment,both of the haptic sensors 32 may be activated to control both theposition and the orientation. For example, the operator 22 can activatethe haptic sensor 32 mounted to the body 24 to control the position ofthe device 12 and the haptic sensor 32 mounted to the housing 46 tocontrol the orientation of the gimbal 48 sequentially or substantiallysimultaneously.

In addition, the embodiments of the device 12 have been described aboveas having two touch sensors 32 _(A) or two touch screens 32 _(B). In analternative embodiment, the device 12 could have one touch sensor 32_(A) and one touch screen 32 _(B). In this alternative embodiment, theoperator 22 can control the position (or orientation) by activating thetouch sensor 32 _(A) and moving the body 24 (or gimbal 48) and cancontrol the orientation (or position) by activating the touch screen 32_(B). Other arrangements or combinations of haptic sensors 32 are alsocontemplated herein.

The embodiments of the aerial device 12 is button-free andadvantageously allows an operator to easily and effectively control theaerial device 12 and/or the gimbal 48 without having to actuate multiplebuttons on the remote device 14 at substantially the same time. Use ofthe haptic sensors 32 allows the operator to control the device 12without having to worry about how the device 12 is currentlypositions/orientated, as actuation of the haptic sensor does not changeor reverse based on the initial or current position of the device 12.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. It isnow apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications andvariations of the present invention are possible in light of the aboveteachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A system for use with an aerial device, the aerialdevice including a body, a lift mechanism, an optical system and agimbal, the lift mechanism being coupled to the body and configured toprovide at least one of lift and thrust to the body, the optical systembeing coupled to the body and having a camera, the gimbal supporting thecamera and enabling rotational movement of the camera, the systemcomprising: a haptic sensor coupled to the body and configured togenerate haptic data; and a processing system and in communication withthe haptic sensor and being configured to: receive the haptic data fromthe haptic sensor; and determine at least one of a target position ofthe aerial device and a target orientation of the gimbal based on thehaptic data.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the determine at leastone of the target position of the aerial device and the targetorientation of the gimbal based on the haptic data including: processingthe haptic data to understand at least one of an intended position ofthe aerial device and an intended orientation of the gimbal; andconverting the at least one of the intended position of the aerialdevice and the intended orientation of the gimbal to at least one of thetarget position of the aerial device and the target orientation of thegimbal utilizing the processed data.
 24. The system of claim 23, whereinthe at least one of the intended position of the aerial device and theintended orientation of the gimbal is converted to at least one of thetarget position of the aerial device and the target orientation of thegimbal utilizing the processed data irrespective of an initial positionof the aerial device and an initial orientation of the gimbal.
 25. Thesystem of claim 23, wherein the aerial device further includes at leastone of an accelerometer and a gyroscope for stabilizing the aerialdevice; and the processing system is further configured to deactivateself-stabilization of said aerial device upon processing the haptic datareceived from the haptic sensor.
 26. The system of claim 22, wherein theaerial device has a control interface disposed on the body with thecontrol interface being free of at least one actuation button.
 27. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the haptic sensor is one of a touch sensorand a touch screen.
 28. The system of claim 22, wherein the hapticsensor is mounted to the body and the processing system is furtherconfigured to determine the target position of the aerial deviceutilizing the haptic data generated by the haptic sensor.
 29. The systemof claim 22, wherein the aerial device further includes a housingcoupled to the body and the optical system is disposed within thehousing with the haptic sensor mounted to the housing; and theprocessing system is further configured to determine the targetorientation of the gimbal utilizing the haptic data generated by thehaptic sensor.
 30. The system of claim 22, wherein the haptic sensor isfurther includes a first haptic sensor coupled to the body and a secondhaptic sensor coupled to the body; the first haptic sensor is configuredto generate first haptic data and the second haptic sensor is configuredto generate second haptic data; and the processing system is furtherconfigured to determine the target position utilizing the first hapticdata and the target orientation utilizing the second haptic data. 31.The system of claim 30, wherein each of the first haptic sensor and thesecond haptic sensor is selected from a touch sensor and a touch screen.32. A system for use with an aerial device, the aerial device includinga body, an optical system coupled to the body and having a camera, agimbal supporting the camera, the system including: a haptic sensorcoupled to the body; and a processing system and in data communicationwith the haptic sensor with the aerial device having an initial positionand the gimbal having an initial orientation, the processing systembeing configured to: activate the haptic sensor to generate haptic data;receive the haptic data from the haptic sensor; determine at least oneof a target position of the aerial device and a target orientation ofthe gimbal based on the haptic data; and move at least one of the aerialdevice from the initial position to the target position and the gimbalfrom the initial orientation to the target orientation.
 33. The systemof claim 32, wherein the determine at least one of the target positionof the aerial device and the target orientation of the gimbal based onthe haptic data including: processing the haptic data to understand atleast one of an intended position of the aerial device and an intendedorientation of the gimbal; and converting the at least one of theintended position of the aerial device and the intended orientation ofthe gimbal to at least one of the target position of the aerial deviceand the target orientation of the gimbal utilizing the processed data.34. The system of claim 33, wherein the at least one of the intendedposition of the aerial device and the intended orientation of the gimbalis converted to at least one of the target position of the aerial deviceand the target orientation of the gimbal utilizing the processed datairrespective of the initial position of the aerial device and theinitial orientation of the gimbal.
 35. The system of claim 33, whereinthe aerial device further includes at least one of an accelerometer anda gyroscope; and the processing system is further configured todeactivate self-stabilization of the aerial device upon processing thehaptic data received from the haptic sensor.
 36. The system of claim 32,wherein the haptic sensor is a touch sensor; and wherein the processingsystem in performing the activating step is configured to: activate thetouch sensor with a single finger touch and maintain the single fingertouch on the touch sensor during the step of moving at least one of theaerial device from the initial position to the target position and thegimbal from the initial orientation to the target orientation.
 37. Thesystem of claim 36, wherein the processing system is further configuredto deactivate the touch sensor by removing the single finger touch fromthe touch sensor after the moving step.
 38. The system of claim 33,wherein the haptic sensor is a touch sensor mounted to the body of theaerial device; and the processing system in performing the convertingstep is further configured convert the intended position to the targetposition of the aerial device utilizing the processed data.
 39. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein the aerial device further has a housingcoupled to the body and the optical system disposed in the housing; thehaptic sensor is a touch sensor mounted to the housing; and theprocessing system in performing the converting step is furtherconfigured to convert the intended orientation to the target orientationof the gimbal utilizing the processed data.
 40. The system of claim 39,wherein the processing system is further configured to rotate the gimbalto effect movement of the aerial device to the target orientation. 41.The system of claim 32, wherein the haptic sensor is further includes afirst haptic sensor coupled to the body and a second haptic sensorcoupled to the body; wherein the processing system is further configuredto: activate the first haptic sensor and the second haptic sensor bytouching each of the first haptic sensor and the second haptic sensorwith a single finger touch; and move at least one of the aerial deviceto the target position and the gimbal to the target orientation whilemaintaining the touching of the first haptic sensor and the secondhaptic sensor.
 42. The system of claim 32, wherein the haptic sensor isa touch screen mounted to the body; and the processing system, inperforming the activating step, is further configured to activate thetouch screen with a finger swipe and generate haptic data representativeof a swipe direction by the touch screen.
 43. The system of claim 33,wherein the aerial device further includes a housing coupled to the bodyand the optical system being disposed within the body; the haptic sensoris a touch screen mounted to the housing; and the processing systemperform the converting step by converting the intended orientation tothe target orientation of the gimbal utilizing the processed data. 44.The system of claim 32, wherein the haptic sensor is a touch screenmounted to the housing; the processing system performs the activatingstep by activating the touch screen with a finger swipe, and theprocessing system is further configured to generate haptic datarepresentative of a swipe direction by the touch screen.